Resilient wheel.



J. A. KoLY, L. r?. LARSEN & c. HNEILSEN.

REsmENT wHEEL.' APPLICATION FILEDl APR. 24, 1916.

Patented July 18, 1916.

AMES/MKDLE' Z1 Y,I IEJUIELAF\5N AND EHRISTIAN 1:1 NEI LEEN an srarns Para onirica.

JAMES A. KOLBY, I-OUIS P. LARSEN, AND CHRISTIAN NEILSEN, OF EPHRAIM, TAH, ASSIGNORS T KOLBY WHEEL COMPANY, INC., OF EPHRAIM, UTAH.

RESILIENT WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed Apri124, 1916. Serial No. 93,204.

To all 'whom t may concern.:

Be it known that we, JAMES A. KonY, LOUIS P. LARSEN, and CHRISTIAN P. NEIL- sEN, citizens of the 'United States, residing at Ephraim, in the county of Sanpete and State of Utah, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Resilient lVheels; and we do declare the 'following' to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, lsuch as will. enable others skilled in the art '.to which it appertains-to make and usethe same. y

Thisinvention relates to improvements in resilient vehicle wheels, particularly those that have a pneumatic cushion surrounding the hub which is acted upon by al plurality of radiallly extending plungers upon the outer ends of which a flexible arm is secured.

The principal object of the present invention is to improve upon the resilient wheel shown in our application for Letters-Patent filed September 13, 1915, Serial No. 50,471,l and provide a wheel which will be consideri ably lighter, yet stronger than' that illustrated, and also to provide a new wayof showing parts of the same broken away and in section; and Fig. 2 is a. transverse section taken-on `the line 2-'2 of Fig. 1.y

Referring more particularly to the drawing, 1 designates a casing through the cen- -ter of which an opening is formed to receive the axle of the vehicle, and 2 indicates a onepiece vrim which surrounds and is spaced from the vcasing 1. The casing is formed with an outer annulars'ide 3, one edge of which is integrally united with the inner upright wall thereof while its outer edge has similarly connected therewith an inwardly extending flange 4 which is spaced inwardly asillustrated to form a seat for the closure of the casing which is in the form of a circular plate 5. The flange 4 is provided with a number of outwardly eX- tending threaded lugs 6 which extend through apertures in the plate 5 and receive Patented. July is, 1ere. l

nuts 7 so that saidv plate may be secured in position. 'The inner sides ofthe upright walls of the casing, one of which is formed by the plate '5, are provided with inwardly extending annular flanges 8 which are spaced from the opening through which the axle of the vehicle extends, and form stops for a ring 9, said ring 4forming the inner side of an annular chamber 10.v

`W1th1n the chamber 10 is 'disposed an annular pneumatic cushion 11 which is' rec-.jf

tangula-r in cross section and has lits inner corners at the inter-section of the upright Y walls and the inner annular side',l enlarged as shown at 12. This prevents the cushion' from being cut as would 'probably occur, when the same was inflated, by portions thereof being yforced into the corners of the annular chamber. The pneumatic cushion may be readily infiated'through the valve stem 13 which extends through an opening in the annular portion 3 of the casing 1.

The annular portion 3 is provided with a plurality of openings 14 which are alined with; apertures 15 in thev rim 2, said alined openingsand apertures slidably receiving the plungers 16, the .outer ends of whichextend beyond said rim while theinner ends are eachprovided with a rectangular head 17. Said hea-ds are disposed? within the chamber 10 and each .have a' rectangular l*cushioning membery 18' fixed thereto and restingupon the outer portion ofthe pneumatic cushion 11. Each cushioning member 18 which is preferably ofsoft rubber orv similar material is considerably' larger than the head 17 s of that the pneumatic cushion willnot be cut when the plungers I16 force ltheir heads inwardly. Theop'enings 14 and the apertures 15 each have a threaded nipple 19 surrounding'thesame and extending outwardly which are adapted to receive the packing glands 20, thereby formlng stuffing boxes.l The stuffing boxes .on the casing l preventwater from entering the chamber 10 and rotting the` pneumatic" cushion, and those on the'rim 2 are used to more efectivelyguide the plungers during their movement.

The upright walls of the casing l are extended radially outward to formthe annular Hanges 21: A number of pairs of tangentiall y arranged crossedl spokes 22 connect the rim 2 with the casing 1, the inner ends of the spokes being secured to the, annular flanges 21, while their outer ends are adjustably mounted in the rim 2. It will be noted that a pairof these spokes are disposed adjacent every other one of the plungers 16,

and that the alternate pairsl ai'e attached to -4 the opposite flanges 21. In other words, loneof spokes has its lowertends secured in the router flange 21, While the next pair is attached to the inner flange and so on. The tension of the spokes, which are of heavy Wire, is readily varied by rotation of the tightening caps 23 in the proper direction as is usual in a. device of this character. This construction, it Will be seen, provides an extremely simple and light wheel, but one which will be exceptionally strong and able to withstand extremely rough usage.

Around the one-piece rigid' rim 2 is disposed a sectional rim 24 which is formed of a. number-'of arcuate sections 25 substantially U-shaped in cross section, each of'whicli is provided with an inwardly opening .socket 26 in which the outer ends of the p'lungers 16 are disposed. The individual sections of the rim 24 are held in operative position bythe spring metal band 27 which rests in the bottom of the U-shaped groove inth'e 'sections 25 and shown at 28, said ends sliding upon leach other when the diameter of the sectional rim is varied. A rubber or other resilient tire 29 is also disposed in the channel which is formed in the sectional rim. .We preferably embed a number of wires 30 within the rubber tire 29 to forin'astrengthening core, and

pair

y to also aid in holding said tire upon the sectional rim.

It is obvious that when the wheel runs i over a rough place in the'road, the sections 25 which are nearest the ground are forcedinwardly tovvardthe iini 2, carrying with rthem the pliingers -16 which depress the pneumatic cushion 11 so that the shocks are readily absorbed. `I [t will also be noted that when it is desired to place another kind of tire upon the sectional rim, or to detach some of the parts of. the i'heel, the pneumatic cushion lis deflated, whereupon the plungers 16 may be readily forced inwardly so that the sections 25 can be removed from the outer ends thereof inasmuch as the dianieter of the sectional rim is considerably reduced.

We claim: v

1. A vehicle Wheel comprising an annular casing, radially extending annular flanges formed adjacent the inner and outer sides thereof, an annular pneumatic cushion in said casing, a rigid rim surrounding said casing and spaced therefrom, the annular has its ends overlapped as portion'of said casing and said rim having a plurality of alined apertures, plungers slidable in said alined apertures, the outer ends projecting beyond said outer rim, heads on the inner ends within said casing for engagement with the pneumatic cushion, pairs vof tangentially arranged spokes disposed around said casing and having their outer ends secured in said rim, the inner ends of the alternate pairs of spokes being attached to opposite flanges, the spokes of each pair 2. A vehicle wheel comprising'an annular casing having flat parallel sides, said sides being extended radially outward to form flanges, the annular portion having a plurality of openings, an annular pneumatic cushion in said casing, said cushion being rectangular in cross section and having its upright walls at their junction with the inner annular side increased in size Ato prevent cutting of the same, a one-piece rigid rim surrounding said casing and spaced therefrom, said rim having a plurality of apertures alined withtlie openings in said casing, plungers slidablein said alined openings and apertures, the outer ends projecting beyond said rim, rectangular heads on' the inner ends voi the plumqers within the v casing, a rectangular cushioning member carried by each head for engagement with said'pneuniatie cushion, said members being larger than said heads, pairs of tangentialh7 arranged spokes disposed around said casing and having their outer ends secured in said rim, the inner ends ofthe alternate pairs of spokes l'ieingattached' to opposite fianges, the spokes'of each 'pair being crossed and disposed on opposite sides of said phmgers, a sectional rim surrounding the first mentioned rim andformed of a plurality of arcuate sections, each being disposed on the outer end of. one of said plungers, and a tire surrounding said sectional rim.

In testimony whereofV we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing.

witnesses.

` JAMES A. KLBY. LOUIS P. LARSEY. CHRISTIAN l. NEILSEN.

lVitnesses: E. I. Ti-ioMANnnu C. Z. Bi'niioo.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve centsv each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents,

' Washington, D.. 6.. 

